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Government and politics of Washingtonia
The Kingdom of Washingtonia has a relatively unique system of government, namely a presidential constitutional monarchy, wherein the King (or Queen) is the mostly ceremonial but also executive head of state, and the President the head of government. The President is elected by universal suffrage at the same time as a new Grand Assembly - every five years - and may be reelected until death. Much of Washingtonia's presidentialism elements were adopted from the United States, such as the fact that the legislature is unable to remove the President by a vote of no confidence, but rather impeachment if he oversteps his constitutional duties or rights. The Grand Washingtonian Assembly is the national unicameral legislature of Washingtonia, and consists of three tiers, namely proportional representation, provincial representation (not to be confused with provincial legislatures) and interest groups. 250 members are elected nationally by way of proportional party-list representation, 20 are chosen by and from the two provincial legislatures (thus, 10 for each province) and the final 30 interest group assemblymen are elected by the sitting 270 other assemblymen after an approved list has been given to the body by the King on advice of the President (after the populace voted in a referendum which groups they want to have represented). The judiciary, which consists of several courts, mostly notably the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court is the judicial branch of government and mainly solves civil and criminal disputes within the Kingdom. Constitutional Court Justices and Supreme Court Judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Grand Assembly. The Constitution of 1913 is the legal framework for the political and governing system of the Kingdom, and derives its legitimacy from the King, who in turn derives it from "the Emperor", the Christian God. The Constitution, the first of its kind in Washingtonia, was passed by the Grand Assembly in its capacity as the Constitutional Assembly in 1913 after the decade-long Civil War. Monarchy Main article(s): Monarchy of Washingtonia, Royalty and nobility in Washingtonia, House of Washington Unlike other constitutional monarchies, the Monarchy in Washingtonia still has considerable (but not absolute) power in daily and especially long term politics and governance. Most of its powers are implied and not necessarily constitutional, with the Constitution only recognizing the King or Queen as sovereign (Chap. 3 Sec. 1), divinely appointed by the Emperor, the Christian God. Because it is the source of sovereignty for both the Constitution and Kingdom, the King has wide executive powers, such as being able to dissolve the Monarchy, lead the armed forces during wartime and act as the Chief Diplomat of the Kingdom and most notably, among other things. However, the role of the Monarchy is chiefly and mostly ceremonial. The Grand Assembly has an implied power to declare the King incapable of executing the duties of his office, however has not done so. During the Constitutional Crisis of 1946, the Assembly was asked by both the President and Constitutional Court to do so, however avoided this by a deliberately absent quorum. Besides implied and constitutional power, the Monarchy has much influential, cultural and persuasive powers. Since the Civil War, public opinion has almost always been much higher than that of the 'secular' government, thus many former kings, including currently Randall I, could easily persuade the electorate to support their political policy agendas. The Union Nationalist Party, traditionally the "Monarchy's Party" has fallen in line with all kings' agendas and thus remained in power since the dawn of the constitutional order. The Monarchy is also financially the richest organization in Washingtonia, owning many private enterprises across the world (legitimized by the Monarchy only being able to receive 3% of tax during peacetime). The House of Washington is the Royal House as constitutionally recognized, however, leaders of other houses may ascend to the Monarchy given their spouse is of the House of Washington and that the marriage is matrilineal. Only males have ever held the Monarchy, thus Washingtonia has never had a Queen, although the Constitution does provide for the ascent of one in special circumstances. Executive Main article(s): President of Washingtonia, Presidential Cabinet of Washingtonia, Executive power in Washingtonia The executive branch of Washingtonia's government is constitutionally and officially referred to as "the Presidency" as a whole. That phrase is also used to refer to the President and ministers without portfolios which support the government as a whole. The Inspector General is also part of this bureaucracy. To avoid confusion, the executive branch is commonly referred to as the "Broad Presidency" and the greater office of the President is referred to as the "Narrow Presidency". The apex of leadership in the executive branch comes in the form of the Presidential Cabinet. According to Section 3 of Chapter 5 of the Constitution, the President may at his leisure appoint ministers to oversee the executive departments and agencies. However, ministries are generally created by means of legislation as passed by the Grand Assembly, even though Section 5 vests this right in the President as well. It has therefore become custom for the President to establish ministers without portfolios within the Narrow Presidency if a ministry hasn't been created for a specific purpose by the Grand Assembly. He can, however, create a ministry unilaterally - this is simply not custom. The Grand Assembly cannot appoint ministers to the ministries it creates. The executive branch is responsible, through its ministries, departments and agencies, for enforcing and implementing the law as passed by the Grand Assembly, and to enforce the President's duty mandate according to Section 8 of Chapter 5. Legislation can however vest more rights and responsibilities in these entities. The Narrow Presidency as well as several other ministries are headquartered in Government House in Foundersville, whilst others have their own separate head offices throughout the city. Executive ministries, departments and agencies Presidency *Minister of the Presidency for the Environment *Minister of the Presidency for Citizenship and Immigration Control *Minister of the Presidency for Intergovernmental Cooperation *Minister of the Presidency for Labor and Housing *Inspector General Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development *Farming Subsidy Board Ministry of Finance, Infrastructure and Economic Development *National Treasury Department *Incentives Board *Development Zone Bureau *King's Loyal Tax and Revenue Service (TRS) Ministry of Foreign Affairs *Office for Relations with the French Republic *Office for Relations with the United States of America *Office for Relations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Ministry of National Intelligence and Security *Civil Investigation and Enforcement Agency (CIEA) *National Communications Intelligence Directorate (NCID) *King's Loyal Directorate for Military Intelligence (DMI) *Overseer for the Intelligence and Security Cluster Ministry of Justice *King's Loyal Prosecuting Service (KLPS) *King's Loyal Washingtonian Police Department (WPD) Ministry of the Interior *Office for the Registration of Marriages, Deeds, Wills and Testaments *Washingtonian Aviation Commission (WAC) Ministry of Education and Science Ministry of Health and Culture *National Telecommunications and Media Commission (NTMC) *Disease and Epidemic Prevention Agency (DEPA) Ministry of Defense *King's Loyal Washingtonian Armed Forces (KLWAF) **King's Loyal Washingtonian Army (WAR) ***King's Loyal House Regiment **King's Loyal Washingtonian Air Force (WAF) **King's Loyal Washingtonian Navy (WNV) Grand Assembly Main article: Grand Washingtonian Assembly *Government District Special Police (GDSP) Judiciary Main article(s): Judiciary of Washingtonia, Constitutional Court of Washingtonia *Constitutional Court *Supreme Court *Court of Appeals *Provincial Court(s) **North Island PC **South Island PC **Family Court **Finance Court **Military Tribunal *Municipal Tribunal(s) See also *Outline of Washingtonia Category:Kingdom of Washingtonia